The night was dark and the leaves rustled in the cold wind. Glancing at the tightly closed palace door, Xifeng roughly calculated the time and felt that it was almost an hour. After hesitating for a moment, he reached out and knocked on the door.
"It's time for the princess to take her medicine."
The sound was neither too loud nor too soft, and the people inside could definitely hear it, but unfortunately no sound came from inside. Xifeng's eyes changed. He had done what he should do, and the princess couldn't blame him now.
Not long after, the door was slowly opened from the inside, and his prince walked out in neat clothes, holding a petite girl in his arms. He didn't dare to look at him any longer and quickly lowered his head.
Glancing coldly at the person next to him, Gu Qin went straight away, hugging the person who had become as soft as a ball of water in his arms.
Feeling ashamed to face people, Xia Tong returned to her room in a daze, drank the medicine, and fell asleep on the bed with unsteady steps. Even the next day, her waist and limbs were sore. Fortunately, the original owner had a dance background, otherwise her waist would have been broken.
For some reason, she always had a premonition that she would die in bed one day.
Fortunately, the other party knew when to stop and left her a breath. Even so, Xia Tong was still drowsy and listless every day.
There was a palace banquet on New Year's Eve, and the neighboring country would pay tribute to the emperor. Gu Qin had to go, and Xia Tong had no choice but to go with him and talk to her mother about something.
The night was pitch black. Every household was having a reunion dinner with candles lit. The red lanterns and red couplets in front of the doors added to the festive atmosphere. A lot of snow on the ground in the palace had been cleared away by the palace servants, but it was still extremely slippery, forcing people to move forward carefully.
There were many carriages parked in front of the palace gate. Everyone got off the carriages and walked to Huaqing Palace. Only a huge black wooden carriage could drive straight in. Seeing the wooden sign hanging on it, no one dared to stop the imperial guards at the palace gate. Other people who attended the palace banquet also stepped aside and dared not look any longer.
The road was slippery and the carriage was moving very slowly. Tonight, the imperial palace was lit up everywhere and the lights in the major palaces were dazzling.
Xia Tong lifted the curtain and looked at the palace servants coming and going outside. Suddenly, she said to the man beside her, "After the palace banquet is over, I want to invite my parents to come over to celebrate the New Year together. We can have dinner together tomorrow. What do you think?"
Gu Qin was looking at the book and just hummed softly when he heard this.
"It is said that those who stay up all night to see the New Year will receive lucky money. Aren't you going to show some appreciation?" Xia Tong blinked and looked at him expectantly.
When he raised his eyes, he saw the always delicate and pretty little face. Gu Qin didn't say anything, but suddenly took out a bag of silver from his waist and handed it to her, saying that as long as she was happy, it was fine.
"Thanks."
Xia Tong took the heavy purse and smiled sweetly. She didn't expect that the boss would carry such vulgar things as money with him. He didn't go shopping, so what was the point of carrying so much money on him?
When the carriage stopped at the gate of Huaqing Palace, Gu Qin got off first, and Xia Tong followed closely behind, being carefully helped down. The ground was slippery and she almost slipped, but fortunately the man held her arm.
Pulling the other person's sleeve, Xia Tong leaned over and whispered, "Actually, I also embroidered a nightgown for you."
The two of them walked hand in hand into the palace. The palace servants at the door did not dare to raise their heads, but were extremely envious. They had only heard that the Regent Princess was quite favored, but they never thought it was true.
Hearing this, Gu Qin turned around and raised his eyebrows, "You are so lazy, maybe you are asking someone else to do it for you."
Xia Tong: “…”
"Don't forget it. I'll throw it to the beggar tomorrow!" She snorted coldly, shook off his hand and walked straight ahead.
The person behind him raised his lips slightly, revealing a gentle smile on his stern features.
Without paying any more attention to the man, Xia Tong went straight to the women's area after entering the hall. Her seat was relatively near the front, just after Lin Qin, so it was true that enemies often meet on a narrow road.
However, there was a beautiful woman sitting in front of Lin Qin. She was wearing a Yuelan gold silk dress with a gentle temperament. She was talking and laughing with Lin Qin at this time. Xia Tong had basically seen everyone in the palace. Judging from her seat and clothes, this person must be the Princess Changyang who had just returned to Beijing as mentioned by Qing'er.
"Sister Tong."
Seeing the person coming, Lin Qin, who was dressed quite solemnly and elegantly today, suddenly stood up and introduced the woman next to her, "This is the regent princess that my sister-in-law mentioned to you, the legitimate daughter of Secretary Xia."
After he finished speaking, the woman next to him also shifted her gaze and fixed it on Xia Tong. She had a polite smile on her face and nodded slightly.
"Your Highness the Princess." Xia Tong gave a half bow and then sat down.
The woman was wearing a pale blue brocade skirt with a hint of gold, and a silk shawl with a mirror flower pattern on her body. She had an unparalleled beauty, and her eyebrows and eyes were like paintings. There were countless beautiful women in the palace, but one glance at her was enough to make people unable to look away.
Looking at the woman, Princess Changyang slightly shifted her gaze and suddenly smiled, "I haven't been back to the capital for a long time. I never thought that there would be such a lovely person in the capital. The regent is really lucky."
After saying that, Lin Qin's eyes flashed with jealousy, and she smiled and said, "That's right. If it weren't for the regent stealing her love, maybe Sister Tong would be the princess's sister-in-law now."
Most people would never dare to make such a joke. Xia Tong didn't know what Lin Qin had been through, and she even dared to say such things. She was the Crown Princess, and her every word and action represented the royal model. Wouldn't such words be embarrassing for the Crown Prince?
Princess Changyang's expression changed slightly, and she looked at her sister-in-law strangely. Fortunately, no one passed by. If this matter were to spread, her eldest brother would definitely be angry.
"The Crown Princess is really good at joking. Marriage is destined by heaven. The fate between the Crown Princess and the Prince is naturally incomparable to others." Xia Tong said lightly, while taking a sip of the fruit wine she brought from the mansion.
She generally didn't dare to eat anything in the palace. Instead, there were only fish and meat dishes, which made people feel uncomfortable in the stomach just by looking at them. So she had prepared milk cakes and fruit wine from the mansion. The palace banquet was so long, so she had to fill her stomach.
"Sister Tong, what you said is very good." Lin Qin's eyebrows moved slightly, and while brushing the hairpins on her temples, she said calmly: "There was a big fire in the Xia Mansion a few days ago. It was indeed a natural disaster, but Sister Tong didn't look sad. Seeing this, I feel a little relieved. I was just worried that you would be too sad and hurt your body."
Not understanding why Lin Qin was targeting her even though she was already the Crown Princess, Xia Tong didn't hold back and looked at her directly and said, "Thank you for your concern, Crown Princess. With your comfort, I have let things go. But Crown Princess should pay more attention to her health. I heard that Concubine Dong is pregnant, so I'm sure the Crown Prince still hopes for your offspring."
Lin Qin clenched her palms as she glanced coldly at the pretty woman next to her. Her once lovely and pretty face now only had a dignified and solemn look on it. There was no trace of feminine cuteness anymore, and instead, it gave people a gloomy feeling.
In front of the hall, there were sounds of music, dancing, and stringed instruments, and the dancers twisted their bodies seductively, but for the people who were used to seeing it, it was nothing new. While the emperor had not arrived yet, they were all chatting with people they knew, and the hall was filled with whispers.
After taking a sip of tea, Princess Changyang saw that her sister-in-law looked unhappy. She suddenly looked at Xia Tong with a smile, and said in a gentle and pleasant voice, "Concubine Dong's child is also my sister-in-law's child. The princess only cares about others, so you have to think more about yourself. After all, I heard that the princess has been married to the prince for some time, so you have to take good care of your body."
The author has something to say: Love rival appears
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